get your backpacks out...

Hello boys and girls, I know it has been a long time but I literally got back from my month long adventure in beautiful Thailand 2 days ago. Now the jet lag is waring off and I have all the time in the world so blog my heart out.

My prep for my trip to Thailand involving lashings of fake tan (didn't last), resisting a hair cut (the humidity would just ruin it again!), veeting, shaving, sit ups and my new favourite tinting. I went to Shavata, 3 days before flying, in Harving Nichols and got my lashes and brows tinted. For a student it is a little pricey but they did a really good job - I wouldn't have gone anywhere else for my first tint as I was really nervous I was going to walk out with slugs on my face. They did a gorgeous job and I ended up getting a shape too (which once tinted I realised I needed!). Result? No more invisi-brow and non need for mascara on the beach.

Picking what to put in my rather massive backpack for my travels was quite difficult because I am so used to having piles of beauty products and a sack full of make up with me at all times.. So I had to narrow it down and adjust it to what I needed instead of what I wanted to take (this was very hard for me!). I managed to narrow it down to the above - after lots of deliberating with myself. While I was away my beauty regime changed and adjusted so I brought back some things I couldn't live without out there.

To start I obviously needed my sun cream, Soltan Factor 30 is normally perfect but it seemed it just wasn't strong enough to protect my ginger skin from the Asian sun. So I had to upgrade to Soltan's Invisible dry Factor 50 - (even using this I managed to burn my back red raw... ). When I packed I was determined not to be my milk bottle self and so I found the best and longest lasting fake tan I could find, St Tropez Dry Tan Oil - it (in normal weather conditions) lasts up to ten days. I unfortunately over estimated the stuff though, as it just sweated off in the humidity of Bangkok as soon as we arrived! So I remained pale, now I am back in English weather I have a healthy natural looking glow ;)

Then there is the essential tropical holiday things you need, like Insect Repellent (from Boots) and Bite & Sting Relief Cream (Boots again) that I couldn't have lived without considering the amount of bites we got out there.

Then things I convinced myself I HAD to take, like my long lasting Mitchum 24 hour deodrant (totally essential), and GOSH Forever eyeshadow for Half Moon and Jungle Experience, Super Stay Maybelline Gel Polish in Berry (melted off but I still reapplied it several times before it peeled away a day later) and GOSH mineral powder (again for partying but again sweated off ever so attractively).

While I was out there I got myself Nivea Dry Skin Therapy Serum as my skin was dry from the lashings of insect spray and sun lotion and 2 showers a day. This as well as Nivea After Sun Lotion were must haves for me the past 5 weeks. I also was absolutely fascinated by the amount of whitening make-up, moisturisers, serums and washes there were in the pharmacies in Thailand, it was extraordinary but then when I thought about it look at how much bronzer and fake tan we have over here! So I bought Pond's White Beauty Lightening Facial Foam - I don't want to try it yet given my recent fake tan top up but I will in a couple of weeks and pop up a review with some of the other products that were in the whitening ranges so you can see the extent of it.

As for my hair.. God knows it was a state and still is due to my desperate need for a hair cut.. but for those nights where I kept it down for an hour I smoothed it out with Shauna's Blow Pro Smoothing Spray (it did the job until the humidity kicked in)

So that's basically it! That is what I tried to survive with while out in the jungle (slash in cosy little hostels and cheap restaurants). It wasn't much but it got me through and compacted into the side pockets of my backpack rather well.. that is until the shampoo I got while I was out there burst.. oops.

I have to say it's so nice to be back after a hour long bath I feel clean, freshly blow dried silky hair, a full face of make up to make me feel pretty again and nice clean clothes that I haven't had to wear for 5 weeks. But it was an incredible trip that I could do again in a heartbeat.

Remember all the product names are links to where you can find them and more info about them! :)

moving out empties

Sooo I may have mentioned in my previous post that I was in the process of moving from London back home to Manchester to finish my degree. I finally made the move this weekend and given that ALL my stuff is packed in the next room here in Manchester I can't get to the rest of 500 products of summer before I go to Thailand on Monday. SO to make up for my 1.lack of posts and 2. my ditching 500 POS .. as I packed everything in my room I found a pile of empty beauty products...

HAIR

TRESemme Salon Silk Shampoo... I have talked about how much I love this shampoo before so I don't need to reiterate that it is a favourite of mine! Then there is the kms Hair Play Texture Spray, again I have spoken about before a while ago .. it is a really light texture spray that gives you a bit of oomph if you have flat hair. It smells lovely too, which is actually always something I pick up on in any beauty products.

BODY

To start, I need to say, the other day my friend said to me that I have an obsession for sprays.. and I am slowly realising it might be true! One spray I love is lynx, I actually have a men's lynx in my vast collection that I loooove. But this Lynx is actually the Attract body spray for her that I nicked off my mum! It's really nice and there is that classic lynx back fragrance to it, can't say it works attracting men as the adverts say but it is nice! Another spray I've emptied is Ghost Sweetheart that I got for Christmas, one of mine and my mums favourite affordable perfumes.. it's sweet and slightly musky too. It stays on all day and I always get compliments on it.. my mums dressing gown actually reeks of it! Then there is the wonderful and sadly empty bottle of St Tropez tanning mousse, again I have reviewed this product before.. my favourite tan of all time. I am actually getting the tanning oil that stays longer for my trip to Thailand.  Last but not least, the Revive Morning Bath & Shower Oil by Aromatherapy Associates, this little bottle of miracle oil is the only thing that made my 6:30 morning showers possible, a few drops rubbed on my belly get into the steam of the shower and make me feel so much more human! I love it.

HANDS

My hands always need to be looked atfer, as a nail art amateur I am always polishing and removing polish and so I need to always be moisturising. So it's only natural I have two empty hand creams and an empty polish remover. The Soap & Glory Hand Food is absolutely gorgeous, marshmallow fragranced light and silky hand cream that sinks in fairly quickly and doesn't leave a sticky layer which I hate! Another lovely hand cream is Nivea Express Hydration Hand Lotion which is made to sink in super fast and it does.. it disappears and hydrates your hands in seconds.. I love Nivea moisturisers they smell fresh and don't irritate sensitive skin. The Sally Hansen Acetone Free Polish Remover is a really nice and soft remover, I prefer acetone free because removers with acetone tend to hurt the cuts I get on my fingers and dry skin around my nails.

FACE

I try not to put a lot of things on my face or change my routine but my constant experimenting and curiosity means I do switch foundations and concealers and cleansers so here a few old products I've loved and used up. I've always struggled with foundations .. finding they weren't light enough or they were too thick, I think a foundation should look natural. I found this light liquid foundation last year, it's MUA Undress Your Skin in Porcelain it's really light and perfect for winter, it doesn't cover up my freckles and doesn't feel caked on. Then there is the Nip + Fab CC Eye Fix which is a colour correcting eye concealer, it's the perfect shade of orange (opposite to purple) that covers my under eye bags when I'm tired and worn out. I love the Porefessional primer by Benefit, my pores just disappear! when I am switching between make ups and cleansers my skin can break out, or just from a rush of hormones!!, I find my Witch blemish stick a complete must as a bedside essential, I sit and rub it on while I watch telly and by morning my spots have gone down by a mile.

So that's all my empties from moving out of my London house :( .. I will be posting again this week before Thailand with what me and Shauna are packing and then I will be away for a month!!

time saving in shower miracles

today I am reviewing two in shower moisturisers - one belonging to a well trusted brand and with one of the best smelling & softening ingredients ever and another own brand product with the skin healing & recovering ingredient i adore.

the first is Nivea In Shower Moisturiser with Cocoa Butter, £3.55

as soon as I saw the advert many months ago for Nivea's in shower moisturiser I was taken. I knew I had to give it a go - I always have to moisturise my skin and I often don't out of laziness. If I shower before a night out I always do my legs and forget about my arms, that do itch a lot. If I shower in the morning before work I just don't have time to do my whole beauty regime so I cut it way down to your basic shampoo and conditioning. Annoyingly, these are my favourite times to shower - so when this product was in a 3 for 2 offer in Boots I jumped at the chance.

not only are the results brilliant - I only have to moisturise my face post shower now! - it contains cocoa butter, which I'm sure has more benefits than just smelling fantastic. Given that my family are fans of Palmers Cocoa Butter I basically swear by the stuff, (looking up technical jargon now...), just as I thought - it is thought to have benefits such as reducing stretch marks and treating sensitive skin kindly. Two things I cannot live without in my moisturiser. 

the only downsides to this product is when I put it on it seems to disappear so quickly I have to dollop a load more on to really get it all over my skin, it also feels rather greasy at first (obviously acting a lot like a conditioner, you are supposed to wash it away) but I'm not 100% keen on that feeling.

the second is Superdrug's Vitamin E In Shower Moisturiser, £2.99

well well well.. who knew? Superdrug's vitamin E range has rave reviews as far as I can see, and if you read my blog on the regular you will know that I adore anything with vitamin E. Like I have said many times it is the best healing ingredient of all healing ingredients. Beating cocoa butter with a barge pole and laughing in it's face kinda good. I only know this fact and swear by it, because my lovely auntie is a masseuse, so when I was having issues with my hips and arse growing to three times the size, and as a result of such, having major stretchmarks, she suggested I get a product with vitamin E in it and massage it into my stretch marks every night. I did and they went from nasty purple to white so quickly (I still do anything to get rid of them as they are still visible and the worst things ever).

this product in particular does split when you start to apply it, but it smells clean and fresh and has many proven to be great benefits from its wonderful ingredients. 

I can't decide which I prefer between the two - I have been switching between them for weeks to decide and I can't for the life of me. All I can say is - buy one (whether the slightly cheaper option or the trusted branded one I dont care). But if you know what's good for you, you will try one. And there are more out there! I've spotted one by Olay somewhere before, I'm sure there are more.

Happy hunting :) & Remember the names of the products will link you to where you can buy them.

scrub up well

I have got some many ideas for posts that I've actually had trouble choosing what to write up today! And this is just for beauty.. i do need inspiration for my nails however (Do not despair i will have a lovely tutorial up for you all tomorrow).

For now I want to show off my facial skin-care routine, including all the stages that I (now) do.. that's cleanse, tone, exfoliate, moisturise. The most important part of skin-care is finding products that suit your skin - condition and sensitivity. 

I have determined that my skin is mixed, I get oily around my t-zone (see below for a cheeky diagram on what this is) but dry and itchy around my jaw line and eyes. If you have mixed skin you can use the same products that I do - these products can apply to other skin types though so I will explain the qualities of each one and what makes them brill for your skin.

cleansing

Simple Kind to Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion, £2.99

This lotion is really good for sensitive skin, it's not harsh but still gets rid of all your make up. It works really well as an eye make-up remover as well (god knows I need that). Reading the back it seems to have a lot of vitamins and good ingredients for your skin especially good is Vitamin E. If you can get anything with vitamin E in it then it's good, you need as much of that stuff as you can get. It makes the appearance of scars and marks on your skin better and smoothes it out (I know this because my auntie who is a masseuse recommended it when I got some stretch-marks a few years ago). I use this in the evening and morning as well, to get rid of over night dirt - I use it right before I apply my make up as it also moisturises the skin lightly so you don't have to wait until you can apply make up (this you would have to do with normal moisturiser to avoid slippy foundation).

toning

B. by Superdrug B. Pure Micellar Water, £4.99

I never understood what toning is, to me it sounds like a quick fix to great abs in a bottle (I WISH), but it unfortunately isn't. We tone our skin to get rid of any left over make up, dirt and dead skin cells. Sounds harsh right? Well actually it isn't too bad, I don't tone everyday as I find it irritates my skin and I end up moisturising a lot to compensate. But this Micellar Water is really good as it's quite gentle so I use it 3-4 times a week to keep my skin supple and firm. It's actually a 3 in 1 formula, so it is a cleanser, toner and refresher - which is great! I know it's doing it's job and there is no need to rinse it off. I would suggest using this daily if your skin is tougher than mine (or normal) just don't get it in your eyes! 

exfoliating

Freederm Exfoliating Daily Wash, £5.19

I didn't ever bother exfoliating regularly until recently, my skin has been breaking out left right and centre and i had enough, so I went straight to the Freederm section, and I am so glad I did.

This product is meant for spot prone skin so you know it's going to do you some good, it combats blackheads and works quickly. I started using it daily and my spots started to clear up and blackheads appeared .. well.. less black! within a week. I use this in the evening after I've cleaned all my make-up off. There is a sensitive one available which I didn't realise, but I would say if you have mixed skin this one will work just fine as it's not irritating unless you over scrub. I did over-exfoliate (something I didn't think was possible) and mustn't have moisturised properly so I ended up with really dry skin around my nostrils, make up really irritated it so be careful!

moisturising

Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion for Normal Skin, £3.59

I swear by Nivea for moisturising, I also have the in shower moisturiser which is lush!, I normally would get Nivea Soft but have recently been using this and it does the job just fine... until I go grab my next batch of Nivea Soft. I love this one because it absorbs really fast so I don't have sticky skin when I go to bed, which is when I do most of my routine. I tend to cleanse as soon as I get in from work and then leave everything else till I am getting ready for bed. I've always moisturised and everyone should, it's so important especially if you have dry patches of skin. You can also get good mattifying moisturisers that are made for oilier skin (so if you do have oily skin there is no excuse!)

extra caring

Detoxifying Face Mask with Dead Sea Mud from Superdrug, £2.59

I love a good face mask every now and then, when I have a couple of hours to really pamper myself. And what better way to do than with a little dead sea mud? This mask is really nice and my skin feels so soft after I use it, I even think my blackheads look better. I would recommend this if you do get bad blackheads. If you aren't a mask kinda person, you don't need to go whole hog, just put it on your worse areas (or t-zone) while you are in the shower and wash off within 5 minutes - easy peasy.

N.B. Drink as much water as possible, it's so good for your skin I can't explain! I try and drink a large bottle  (don't ask me how many litres it is) a day through the week and I treat myself on the weekend and evenings to juice and iced tea hehe!

Have fun cleansing ladies!

xxxxxx

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tough choices

I know I know I know.. where have I been? Well since 'The slump is over' I went to Manchester to see my family and the lovely lady Danielle for her 21st birthday.. one wild night, big hug with my baby niece and a hop skip and a 3 hour journey later I was back in the big smoke. 

2 Days of tiring work and an early night have fueled my fire and I am back with inspiration and many plans for fun posts for my lovely followers (however few they are).

So today what I've got for you is a tried and tested post. Since I started my new job, I've had to get back into the swing of breaking down boxes (my absolute favourite job of all time... ) on a daily basis. Meaning cuts, scratches, scissor danger mainly, and general rough stuff. Okay so granted its only cardboard boxes and the dangers aren't that bad but when you are a nail nerd like me loverly hands are kind of essential.

I tested: Nivea Express Hydration For Normal to Dry Hands (I'm sure it was free), Nip & Fab Yoga Blend Body Lotion (With Lavender and Rose and Coconut and other Special Stuff that smells amazing), GHOST SWEETHEART Body Lotion (A Christmas Present) and E45 Cream (from when I have a foot rash, yes, a foot rash).

So without further adieu I give you a little moisturizer tried and tested post for those of you who would like to know what moisturizer I use - because yes, I think that people need to know this kind of thing about my v.i.p life and hand care.

Smells grrrrrrrreat!

Ghost Sweetheart Body Lotion

As part of a Christmas Present (That I asked for ) from the wonderful Santa Claus aka My lovely mother, I thought of it as nothing but an extra bit of crap to go on the old dressing table in my East London bedroom. However, given I LOVE the Ghost Sweetheart smell I started using it and it is now nearly empty! The only downside is it's not very well moisturizery for me. I can get quite dry skin and this doesn't really solve that problem it just smells absolutely amazing! And.. Saves wasting precious perfume! :)

The posh one :)

Nip & Fab Yoga Blend Body Lotion With Lavender, Coconut & Rose

This one is another one that smells fantastic - and I know, like Ghost, it is a body lotion so it probably shouldn't be able to stick it's nozzle into my hand cream tried and tested post, but I love using it on my hands these days. It is one of those moisturizers where you get a little bit out because it smells so lovely and you see the size of the bottle and decide to put more on.. then more.. then more until you smell like a rose bush. It's also really silky and smooooth, and light which I have found to be good qualities in a moisturizer.

Does the job

E45 Cream

Now this cream was a desperate buy when I started my internship working for B&Q's press agency, I was so run off my feet they felt like they were going to burst into flames every night and I longed to get home and scratch them until I started coating them in E45. It's something you know will do the job - when my cheeks got dry over Christmas it was a go to and so now it just seems entirely appropriate for when my hands are feeling extra dry and in need of some really medical attention.

Current Favourite

Nivea Express Hydration Hand Lotion

Currently, this is the lotion I can't keep my hands off, or keep off my hands for that matter. It absorbs super quickly which is extra convenient when you are trying to open a nail polish, and it smellss really quite nice to say it isn't fragranced, it also actually does the job by making your hands super soft, so much so you feel like your hands will slip right off the rails on the tube! (That totally didn't happen and even if it did I am so not blaming it on the hand cream...) All facts aside it is currently the best I have, perhaps as it is the only actual HAND lotion I have but that doesn't stop me from using it on my face... :)

Even though one of the key ingredients to a lovely pampering manicure is a good lotion, this post isn't really much about nails - I am considering doing some beauty posts after looking at the hoard of products I own, it could be fun.

Ciao bella

PS Click the names of the lotions to see them on their available websites :)

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